SURJIT SARKAR vs STATE OF WEST BENGAL

The Supreme Court ruled that a cryptic telephonic intimation cannot be classified as a First Information Report under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Court accepted the testimony of PW-8 Achintya Sarkar while rejecting that of PW-7 Sanatan Sarkar, concluding that Surajit Sarkar could not be convicted of murder but rather for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 IPC. The conviction was modified accordingly, emphasizing that acquittal of co-accused does not automatically lead to the acquittal of the appellant.